Er, I realize that the cheese comment is ambiguous. I would add the cheese to my portion, not hers!!!!

I have a good friend who is a strict vegan and I can tell you it is difficult! I am a 30 year vegetarain and I don't like to eat a lot of eggs and cheese because of the fat, but it is still really difficult for me to accomodate her. She brings her own stuff, but I still feel bad because a lot of times things I think are going to be OK are not. She never complains and like I said, brings her own food. She realizes she is on a very strict diet, but it is for health reasons. Also she doesn't eat sugar, which makes it even more tough!! The hardest thing for me is the baked goods!! I make a lot of mixed vegetable salads, which is great now since there is so much yummy fresh produce available. Vegan baked goods are a mystery to me unfortunately, so I can't help you there. I get a lot of great alternative pastas in the health food store. Also soy yogurt. I don't like the fruity kind, but I've heard the plain is better.

Is there a natural food store, such as Whole Foods, or something similar in your area? I'd think a city as large as Baltimore would have something along that line. If so, there should be plenty of vegan type products available such as vegan cheeses and such. I can't vouch for whether they taste any good or not.

I've heard that applesauce can be substituted for eggs in baked goods...or is it that applesauce can be subbed for oil? I don't remember which it is.

I agree with Lpinkmountain, salads are a great way to feed a vegan.

Don't forget -vegans don't do honey either.

You might ask her for some of her favorite recipes, or recipe sources.

Sally

I'm making a vegan meal for dinner tonight--stir fried tofu-kan, sweet potatoes, broccoli and scallions, with a peanut sauce served over brown rice. Accompanied by a chopped salad with purple cabbage, carrots and grated granny smith apple, with one scallion. Dressing is salt, white pepper, juice of one lemon and canola oil. Serve topped with toasted sunflower seeds. Dessert will be fresh fruit, probably a banana or some pineapple. I try and eat at least one vegan meal per day.

There's a lot on the Web about vegan baking.

How nice.

Whole Foods (Mt. Washington, Harbor East) has vegan bread - it may be in the frozen food section, and they do have some vegan or vegan-like baked goods in the bakery, too. They may have some other vegan products, too, I've never notice. Other than that, it's going to be hard to find stuff in grocery stores.

Your best bet is all the farmers markets open around town. Lots of fresh produce, but she probably already knows about those.

Good luck.

Traditional French or sourdough bread is just flour, water, salt and yeast so it should be fine for vegans.

adnama, most pastas don't contain eggs...except for Egg Noodles, lol. If they do, it will be listed in the ingredients, so you can always check to be sure. Most breads don't contain egg either, again, just check the ingredients. Some hidden no-nos to keep an eye out for would be when reading ingredient lists would be gelatin, lecithin (make sure it's soy-derived) or whey.

For some other hidden no-nos, I've posted a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hidden Vegan no-nos

I don't eat vegan either..but with avoiding wheat, alot of the blogs and places I find new recipes..are from people that have alot of food allergies and therefore many are not only wheat free, but egg, dairy and several other things "free". LOL
The web hosts many many tried and true recipes that fit into the categories you are looking at.

And there is always egg replacer.Ener G . That you can use to sub many things.

Karina has a great site. She's got alot of allergies and cooks without alot of ingredients..but cooks with even MORE good things! Glutenfreegoddess

Shauna has a wonderful resource that she's created..okay 2 resources(she just launched a new blog!) ..her recipes are delish. Her book is a great read too! Don't forget to click on her blog highlights to other bloggers links.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gluten Free Girl

Adopting a positive point of view will help. By that I mean exploring and enjoying good vegan dishes for their own sake rather than trying to substitute ingredients in non-vegan ones. Please don't take this simple thought as an insult, it's not intended that way.

This is how I look at it. Although I am an omnivore and am usually cooking only for myself, my meals are quite often vegan. That is because there are so many vegan dishes I truly enjoy. I don't refer to them as vegan or think of them that way, but they qualify as vegan. My menu planning, such as it is, does not begin with selection of a meat course and addition of a starch and a vegetable, which is usual in our society. Often I start with the idea of cooking some sort of beans, lentils or other legumes and take it from there. Sometimes I have an assortment of vegetables on hand which combine nicely to make a hearty soup, stew, gumbo or casserole. Who says you have to put meat in gumbo? Often I make a meal based on oriental noodles, some kinds of which are not made with eggs, not because I'm vegan, just because I like them.

Rice and beans are a popular combination all over the world for good reason. That combination can take on many different forms and flavors.

Let's not forget hummus, another yummy legume preparation. Don't spend your hard earned bucks on those skimpy little containers in the deli case. Buy a bag or two of dried garbanzos, make your own and feed the whole gang for a cheap price.

Rice is not the only grain which is useful for a vegan meal. Bulgar wheat can be used not only to make delicious tabouli, but in many other ways, cooked or not cooked.

I have discovered fresh shelly beans, a wonderful Southern dish. If you don't know about them, find out.

Stock your pantry with an assortment of dried legumes, grains and pastas. Have good cooking oils, spicy sauces and condiments on hand. Look for fresh veggies in season, especially at farm markets and roadside stands.

I could go on at length on this topic. I'll just arbitrarily stop here. I hope you get inspired and excited about vegan food.

Jim

One of my favorite blogs is Veganlunchbox. The owner of the blog is Vegan (obviously) and she makes the most imaginative, delicious lunches for her son. The best part is most of the food is international. Many cultures don't use meat the way we do and she kinda carries the theme for the whole lunch, ie. all of the items will be Japanese or Thai etc.
Many middle eastern or North African cuisines do great stuff with Vegan food , as Jim pointed out above, a lot of cultures use beans and rice in various combos which are vegan..

Good luck

Jim's post reminded me that lots of the dishes on Manjula's kitchen are vegan.

Here is a link that might be useful: Manula's kitchen vegan recipes.

Thanks for all the ideas and links.

Rachelellen, that link for hidden no no's is fantastic. Thanks!

Lpink, do you have a recipe for your peanut sauce? The one I usually use has honey in it.

Jimster, I appreciate your input and I have all those things, but my particular friend enjoys eating vegan versions of "regular" food. I always have hummus, Asian stir-fry and salad ingredients on hand, but that's all anyone ever offers her and I'd like to add some new things to the rotation.

Keep the ideas coming, y'all!

One of my favorite, super healthy meals is "greens and beans." I saute a bit of onion and some greens in olive oil, (fresh or frozen greens), then add a can of canellini, red kidney or garbanzo beans and one or two cans of stewed tomaotes, and about a tsp. of italian seasoning and a small amount of garlic, s&p. Serve over rice or pasta or for a special treat, polenta. This takes maybe 10 min. to make, and is the basis of a great vegan meal. You can add other vegetables, I like it with zuchinni added. For a dinner party, add roasted eggplant and red pepper spread on bruschetta, or tofu pate, a good green salad, and any other vegetable dish you like. I am very partial to roasted vegetables like parsnips, butternut squash, carrots, red onion (or white), celery, cauliflower, asparagus. I have tried most things roasted and the only thing I don't like is zuchinni. I also love those tofu pudding mixes Mori Nu puts out, you can get them in the health food section of a lot of groceries, or a specialty store.

Another great vegan meal--falafel or hummus in pita bread, cucumber or chopped salad, (you could make the vinegar and oil kind or experiment with soy yogurt), tabouleh and canteloupe for dessert. Fill canteloupe with tofutti, if that is vegan. (See, there's an example of something I'm not sure about). Feta cheese and lamb kabobs and bakalva on the side for the non-vegans. If you buy the falafel mix, falafel are a snap to make. So is hummus, especially if you have a food processor!

Things to have on hand--nutritional yeast, which can be used as a cheese sprinkle substitute on pasta and popcorn. Tofu, the premarinated kind, which you can get in specialty groceries and some regular ones if they are serving a progressive crowd. Soy milk, in the small containers so it doesn't spoil on you! Seasoned roasted nuts for snacking, try some fun varieties like soy nuts and pumpkin seeds and those sesame sticks! Tofutti and fruit pops in the freezer. Fake sausage links and burgers and hot dogs.

My version of tofu pate

Extra firm tofu
Pesto sans cheese--the basil or parsley kind
Kalamatta olives
Capers
Fake parmesean cheese (optional)

Mix proportions to taste in a food processor to make into a spread. If using a whole block of tofu, about 1/4 cup of olives, 2 TBLSP capers, 2-4 TBLSP pesto and 2 TBLSP of the fake cheese. If you don't have pesto, use a handful of fresh basil, pine nuts or walnuts, a half a clove of roasted garlic, and about 1/4 cup of olive oil. This is great on brushetta, crackers or even with pasta.

One of my favorite potato salads is with red new potatoes, celery, red onion or scallions, steamed or roasted green or yellow wax beans. Dress with red wine vinegar and olive oil and oregano or marjoram or dill, s&p to taste. Can add olives or capers for extra zing, depending on what else you're serving. Also great made with beets. Top with toasted nuts before serving.

Waldorf salad made with "Nayonaise" which is a tofu based mayo you can get in the health food section.

Just use brown sugar for the honey. The recipe I use comes off of the Smuckers all natural peanut butter jar lid. If she's not into sugar, you can use molasses and maple syrup.

If she like vegan version of meat food, I make something called "Tuno Salad" which is extra firm tofu, mayo (use the vegan kind here) pickle relish and capers. Add celery and scallions to taste, or a little bit of grated onion. Can add chopped sundried tomatoes and olives instead of the pickle relish for a more italain flair. Season with season salt, the kind I get is from Penzeys and is called "Sandwhich Sprinkle" but Mrs. Dash's seasonings are similar, although sans salt.

Also "Hamless Salad" which is extra firm tofu, barbecue sauce, chopped green olives with pimentos, pickle relish, and whatever else you like--celery, scallions, sundried tomatoes, etc. Can sub chopped gherkins for the pickle relish.

To make both of these salads, you will need to marinate and bake the tofu to make it really good. To do this, pour italian salad dressing or barbecue sauce into a shallow baking dish. Slice the tofu into one inch slabs and drain/press between paper towels. I wrap with paper towels and then sandwich between two plates to squeeze out the water. Put the tofu in the baking dish, slather with the marinade. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 min. After 20 min., turn the tofu over and slather the other side with the marinade that is left in the pan. It may take longer than this for the tofu to dry out. Tofu really can't "marinate" in the traditional sense. What you are doing is drying out the tofu and creating a flavor crust.

Both of these are great on sandwich buns with lettuce. I also make "Eggless Egg Salad" with mustard, curry powder and tumeric as the main seasoning and to turn it yellow.

If you want to do vegan versions of "regular" food, you might try Smart Ground for foods with ground beef. I use it to make chili. It can be used for tacos, meatballs, etc.

Seitan (mainly wheat gluten) can also be used in place of meat. I haven't tried making it from scratch. Around here, Whole Foods carries the pre-made seitan strips. It tastes best if simmered in a flavoring broth before use.

Have you tried my falafel recipe? (I don't like the mixes.) My bean dip is vegan and low fat as well. I created this recipe while I was living in Austin on Duval Street. It was a big hit at the ASID student group meeting (I served over 100 people at one party), but admittedly they may have been easy to please. I use a lot of cumin in that recipe, but I omit it when I make hummus.

Try experimenting with some Indian dishes. The link to Manula's kitchen looks good to me. There are lots of potato dishes that you can make also. Try making potato salad with a garlic herb vinaigrette dressing. Empanadas made with masa and cooked vegetables are good also, but you have to eat them right after they are cooked. You can make vegan pizza easily enough also - my favorite combines a lot of different mushrooms sautd with garlic, shallots, thyme, and then reconstituted with white wine. This is better with Parmesan cheese, but it's also good without. When I was a teenager, I would always order pizza without cheese, since I avoided dairy when I was growing up, despite the fact that I was occasionally forced to milk cows. As you may know, I never managed to make it back from the barn without spilling the milk.

Lars